Hosta are clump-forming herbaceous perennials with simple in a Liliaceae genus with about 23-45 species of plant commonly know as hostas,plantain lilies (particularly in Britain) and some know by Japanese name Giboshi. The genus is  in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, and is native to northeast Asia like ‘liliod momocots’

Hostas are popular cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants.

The name Hosta is in honor of the Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host. The rejected generic name Funkia, also used as a common name, can be found in some older literature.

Hostas are widely cultivated, easy-to-grow, long-lived, shade-loving perennial that is prized for its colorful leaves, particularly pretty in the garden as shade-tolerant foliage plants whose show a focal point. Though Hosta plantaginea originates in China, most of the species that provide the modern plants were introduced from Japan to Europe by Philipp Franz von Siebold in the mid-19th century. Newer species have been discovered on the Korean peninsula as well. Hybridization within and among species and cultivars has produced numerous cultivars, with over 3,000 registered and named varieties, and perhaps as many more that are not yet registered with the American Hosta Society.